Heating and Cooling Systems

Your vehicle's heating and cooling system has a very serious job; keeping you and the engine cool in the summer and you and your passengers warm in the winter. There are several key parts to the cooling and heating system that all require proper maintenance and periodic service to maintain peak efficiency.

Cooling Systems

How will the cooling system in your car work well if not for the water pump? It is one of the vital components in removing heat from your engine and keep your engine temperature in a manageable level. The water pump is a centrifugal pump driven by a belt connected to the crankshaft of the engine. It circulates coolant form the radiator, through the engine, and back to the radiator. The water pump has a shaft with a pulley on one end and a pump rotor on the other end. When the pulley is spun by a belt, the rotor starts to circulate the coolant.

Car water pumps have an inlet near the center so the coolant returning from the radiator hits the pump vanes. The pump vanes fling the coolant to the outside of the water pump, where it enters the engine.

Auto water pumps have various designs for different purposes. Most include a rotating impeller, which transmits the coolant through the engine block. As for most rear-wheel drive cars, the fan is installed on the end of the water pump shaft. These car water pumps usually have a spring-loaded seal to prevent water leakage around the pump shaft. Some water pumps are fitted with pre-packed ball bearings sealed at each end so lubrication won’t be necessary. It is a must to have a fully-functioning water pump to avoid overheating and engine wear and tear engine. The circulating capability of an auto water pump will certainly cool your engine down at a manageable temperature.

Heating Systems

The heating system is actually a part of the engine cooling system, employing the use of hot engine coolant (anti-freeze) to provide heat to the interior of the vehicle. Today’s Automatic Temperature Control (ATC) systems use a large number of components to control temperatures to the interior of the vehicle in one, two, three or even four specific areas of the vehicle.

Air Conditioning System

Have you recently checked your car’s air conditioning system? This may not be as important during colder months… but come summer, your air-conditioning system will be desperately needed. Having a well maintained air-conditioning system is a must for proper ventilation and for your comfort inside your car.

When taking care of your car’s air conditioning system, it is important to know its component parts. Among these are the condenser, compressors and drier/accumulator. All of these play an important role in the cooling of your car.

The process of cooling your car happens in a closed loop. It starts with the compressor. The compressor takes in low-pressure refrigerant gas, usually freon gas, from the air-conditioning system’s inlet side, which is composed of a evaporator and accumulator or drier. The receiver drier takes all the water and other contaminants out of the air-conditioning system. In the compressor, gas is compressed and converted into a high pressure and high temperature gas. The hot refrigerant is then passed into the condenser, which is a major part of the air-conditioning system’s low pressure side, where the refrigerant is again cooled and is passed back to the drier, forming a closed loop.

In order to keep your air-conditioning to be in tip-top shape, it is important to always to keep the system properly maintained. Always have your air-conditioning system inspected by your local AC specialist. If any part is damaged, it has to be immediately repaired.